AGE-RELATED FEATURES OF THE CONTENT OF CYTOKINES IN THE BLOOD OF SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH GASTRITIS WITH A FAMILY PREDISPOSITION TO PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE

Abstract

Many studies have shown an association of gastritis manifestations with the level of specific cytokines. Moreover, quite contradictory data are often observed. The question of the relationship between gastritis and blood cytokine levels in the presence of a family predisposition to peptic ulcer disease, which is known to be associated with an unfavorable course of the inflammatory process in the gastric mucosa, has not been studied in children’s age groups.Aim. To evaluate the association of cytokines in blood serum (IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-18, IL-1β, IFN-α, TNF-α) with gastritis in age groups of schoolchildren with a family predisposition to peptic ulcer disease.An esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed with the collection of biopsy material from the gastric mucosa for children with gastroenterological complaints aged 7–17 years. A total of 143 children were examined with morphological confirmation of gastritis (Sydney classification). The presence of H. pylori was also determined by morphological method. The level of serum cytokines was determined by ELISA. Differences in characteristics were assessed using the Mann-Whitney test.The study found that in schoolchildren with gastritis, the presence of a family predisposition to peptic ulcer disease is associated with an increase in the content of IFN-α in the blood, both in the older age group (p = 0.001) and in the younger (p = 0.023). At the same time, there were no differences in IFN-α content between children with hereditary burden in the age groups of schoolchildren. In addition, in older schoolchildren with burdens, in contrast to younger ones, an increase in the level of IL-2 (p = 0.001) and IL-4 (p = 0.015) was noted. In children with a family predisposition to peptic ulcer disease due to H. pylori infection, there were no differences in cytokine levels depending on age. It was noted that with a high degree of activity (grade 2-3) of gastritis, there were no differences in the content of cytokines in schoolchildren of the younger and older age groups. The exception was the content of IL-4, which was higher in older schoolchildren with grade 1 gastritis (p = 0.049).Thus, in children, depending on the presence of a family history of peptic ulcer disease, there are differences in the cytokine profile, with characteristics of their content in age groups, in particular, this concerns the level of IFN-α and IL-4.

Keywords

• cytokines
• children
• age
• gastritis
• peptic ulcer
• family predisposition.